Cuniculitrema Sampaio & R: Kirschner (2001)

This chapter discusses the genus Cuniculitrema. It provides a systematic discussion of the species. The diagnosis of the genus is done on the basis of asexual, sexual, physiology and biochemistry, and phylogenetic placement. In asexual reproduction yeast cells are ovoid or have an irregular shape and produce one or more stalk-like conidiophores, each giving rise to a single conidium. The conidium is freed without forceful ejection at the distal end of the stalk. Ballistoconidia are not formed. Cultures are cream colored. In sexual reproduction basidiocarps are not known. Hyphae have clamp connections and haustorial branches. The sexual structures are formed in the filamentous phase. The basidia are of the Tremella type and globose, with four compartments separated by longitudinal septa. The basidiospores are passively released and germinate by budding. The septal pore is a dolipore with cupulate parenthesomes. The salient features of Cuniculitrema are the production of Tremella-type basidia, combined with the formation of stalked conidiophores, and an intermediate, probably dikaryotic, conidial stage. A Cuniculitrema-like life cycle might be hypothesized for its asexual relatives presently classified in Fellomyces and Kockovaella. © 2011